The ones I picked up are most definitely American made ... at least that's what the sticker said. As far as the 1" vs. 7/8" deal, I believe you're misinterpreting something... 7/8" is the diameter of the handlebar - this has nothing to do with the 1" specification of the clamp, the clamp is mounted to the suspension fork which is 33mm (1" is 25.4mm obviously) so the clamp being 7.6mm smaller than the fork tube allows me to tighten it rather well.
The significant strength of 304 stainless steel coupled with grade 8 strength hardware lends itself well to the structural integrity of the system ergo I must disagree with you that it's "suicidal". Nonetheless I respect your concern and I certainly appreciate and understand that you are not trying to "flame me". As it stands, it takes a lot of force to notice any flexion in the bars - way more force than I would exert while riding. I've not yet test-rode the bike because I didn't finish putting it together (just have bars on, didn't put components on yet). However, with the bike on the center stand, I've sat upon it and leaned heavily on the bars from the riding position and I've no concerns over the adequacy of their strength.
Note that I'm not a beginner rider, I've been riding almost 10yrs with nearly 110,000 miles over five bikes - two Harleys (1991 Sportster 1200, 2001 Fatboy), two Hondas (1984 Nighthawk 650 and 1985 Nighthawk 700-S), and this Yamaha. That said, I believe my experience grants me some measure of credibility on ascertaining what is and isn't safe.
This development is in effect a research project (sorry, I can get nerdy, I'm working on a Ph.D. in chemistry). The goal is to determine whether or not my physique is compatible with a clip-on handlebar system as opposed to the more conventional approach using the standard fixation ... I'm 6'4" so I'll be leaning a bit. I've also got plans and materials for making my own seat based on sources I've found. The seat (café style) will position me about 2" lower than the stock seat thereby altering the overall geometry of my riding position further. Once such modifications are implemented some evaluation of how much I like ... or should I say how much my back likes clip-ons will follow.
My overall reasoning for rigging my clip-ons as I have is to answer my fundamental question without spending a significant amount of money (remember, I'm a Ph.D. student ... we aren't paid much at all - I made much more as a building and grounds maintenance worker at a warehouse several years ago). If I determine after several hundred or maybe a thousand miles that these homemade clip-ons are still of sound structural integrity and my back is not screaming bloody murder, I'll keep them. On the other hand, if my back approves of the posture and these homemade clip-ons come to give me any shred of concern, I'll ditch 'em and buy manufactured bars ... however, I've not found any manufactured clip-ons that are NOT made in China - on that note - if someone has any suggestions of good quality non-Chinese made clip-ons, I'm all ears. Lastly, if my back hates clip-ons, I'll figure out something else.
- J